The House of Representatives passed a controversial cybersecurity bill on Thursday in the face of warnings that it undermined privacy and a threat from White House advisers warning they would recommend President Barack Obama veto the legislation.

If you are eligible to vote in the United States, please take a break from whatever you're doing today and call your member of the US House of Representatives. Tell the staff member who answers the phone that you value your privacy. And tell him or her that you are deeply unhappy that the House seems poised to destroy everyone's online – and by extension offline – privacy by passing the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (Cispa).

You might also mention that you're not a "14-year-old tweeter in the basement," which is how the chief backer of this wretched legislation has described its countless opponents.